Pippo SperaA Buen Puerto

A summertime record, if ever there was one! Lilting melodies, including a shimmering cover of Eduardo Mateo’s ‘Mejor me voy,’ infused with an undercurrent of bossa nova and the drowsy, faded memory of sun-drenched islands. All of this melodic loveliness is made ever-so-groovy in an Afro-Cuban sort of way thanks to a mighty contribution from world famous percussionist Jorge Trasante, Totem drummer Roberto Galletti, and Limonada drummer José Luis Sosa. Pippo Spera had come into the orbit of Uruguayan master Eduardo Mateo back during the days of El Kinto (one of that band’s finest songs is about a visit by Mateo to Pippo’s house).

From 1967 to 1970, Pippo concentrated on studying classical guitar at the Conservatorio Nacional of Uruguay, until the military dictatorship closed the school. So, Pippo started his songwriter career, which culminated in 1975/1976 with the recording of "A Buen Puerto.” As Pippo says, “It was a beautiful experience to me. I had the help of the best musicians in town, they were like brothers. At that time in Uruguay, nobody used to get money to perform in a recording studio; for the musicians it was a pleasure, it was just love of art…” After the release of this LP, Pippo decided to leave a Uruguay oppressed by a brutal dictatorship. He sailed to Brazil in a ship much like the one hovering behind him on the “A Buen Puerto” album. Brazil was indeed “a good port” for Pippo—he became friends with many of the best Brazilian musicians of those years: Milton Nascimento, Geraldo Azevedo, Renato Rocha, and Alceu Valença, and ended up writing for and playing on Nascimento’s “Clube da Esquina 2” album.